Dwarf mistletoe, on the other hand, is amazingly small. Arceuthobium’s 42 dioecious species parasitize only conifers. The female plant of American dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium americanum) is shown above, the male below. Notice the tiny size of the plant relative to the pine needles.

Dwarf mistletoe begins its life as a seed that lands on a tree branch, then germinates and grows beneath the bark, sucking water and minerals. It rarely kills the tree but the tree fights back by developing witches’ brooms or losing branches as shown on this lodgepole pine. Foresters hate dwarf misletoe.

Many mistletoes depend on birds to spread their seeds, but dwarf mistletoe takes matters into its own hands. During the 18 months of seed maturation, water pressure builds up in the seed capsule until it finally bursts out, traveling at almost 50 mph … like this!